


The Heart: Reprise

by belmione



Category: She-Ra and the Princesses of Power (2018)
Genre: Childbirth, F/F, Fluff, Kid Fic, One Shot, Pregnancy
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-11-19
Updated: 2020-11-19
Packaged: 2021-03-10 02:33:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 7,546
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/27636205
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/belmione/pseuds/belmione
Summary: Adora's meticulous plans for the birth of their first child go awry when she goes into labor away from Brightmoon. She and Catra, stuck in Erelandia, face their worries about becoming parents as they scramble to make alternate plans.
Relationships: Adora & Catra (She-Ra), Adora/Catra (She-Ra)
Comments: 9
Kudos: 186





	The Heart: Reprise

**Author's Note:**

> There's a quick POV switch at the end from Catra to Glimmer and then back to Catra. It's marked with some asterisks. 
> 
> Also, I don't explicitly name the baby in this one because I love Finn but also super love Art of Kace's glitradora AU and couldn't pick one. So you can read this one with any fankid you want in mind.

“You’re sure you want to come with me to Erelandia?” Catra asks, raising a skeptical brow at Adora as she teeters, trying to swing her leg over Swift Wind. 

She wobbles dangerously and Catra darts over to Swift Wind’s other side, grasping her wrist to help pull her onto the horse.

Swift Wind pins his ears, nervous as she tries to get comfortable and find her balance. Catra huffs and crosses her arms, half-annoyed and half worried. 

“Can you just let someone help you?”

“I do,” Adora answers, either comfortable with the outright lie or suffering from her usual spectacular lack of self-awareness. 

“No, you don't. You were slow, stubborn, and top-heavy even before and you’re even worse now.”

“Hey!”

“At least hold on to something next time. Why do you even want to come? It’s going to be a quick day trip to see how things are going there, drop off some paperwork. It’s not even interesting.”

Adora rolls her eyes.

“Anything is interesting after being cooped up in the palace for the last three months. I just want a change of scenery. We're not going to get much of that for a while once they’re here.”

Catra considers her for a while, tail thrashing in annoyance. She wouldn’t even normally take Swift Wind, but he’s faster than Melog and she wants to get everything done quickly and get back to Adora. Now she’s going to be stuck on Adora’s flying horse with Adora herself in tow.

Adora gives her a pleading look from on top of the horse. She’s always impossible for Catra to say no to, especially when she makes that face. She growls and admits defeat.

“Fine. But you better hold on tight. I’ll kill you if you fall off.”

“Won’t the fall kill me first?” Adora fires back, grinning as Catra grits her teeth in frustration.

“If it does, I’ll bring you back to life just to kill you again.”

Adora smiles, happy having convinced her wife to let her come with her. Catra climbs on behind her, looping her arms around her and settling them on top of her belly. Catra isn’t smiling, ears flat.

“Is it really okay with you? You’re not too worried? Maybe it is a dumb idea,” Adora's smile fades as she looks behind her. 

Catra wants to tell that yes, it's an incredibly dumb idea and she should go back inside. But she's also right about being confined to the palace for the most part. They all stopped giving her anything to do months ago to give her time to rest and to underhandedly encourage her to slow down a little. Catra worries that they only succeeded in giving Adora no outlet for her neuroticism. 

“I didn’t say I was worried.”

“Didn’t need to,” Adora looks at her ears and tail, pointed, and Catra sighs. Adora has been acting a little funny the past few days. Probably tired and uncomfortable with absolutely nothing to distract her from it. Maybe a short trip isn't a bad idea for her. 

“If it’s important to you, I’ll get over it.”

Adora cranes her head back to kiss her. Catra tries to hide her smile but she knows she’s failing.

“Thanks,” Adora murmurs against her lips.

“Against my better judgment, you’re welcome.”

Swift Wind trots out of the stables, stretching his wings in the open space. Adora shifts to get comfortable and Catra watches her intently.

“I’m fine, just trying to get settled,” she pipes up, having noticed Catra's unease. She braces a hand against the underside of her belly, tangling the fingers of her other hand in Swift Wind’s mane.

“Trying to be stubborn, too,” Catra mutters. Adora opens her mouth to fire back but Swift Wind interrupts as he picks up speed.

“You ready?” Swift Wind asks, looking at her as if he’d rather the ground swallow him whole than have to take off with a heavily pregnant Adora on his back.

“Everyone calm down, I’m fine,” Adora repeats, shifting under the attention.

The grunt she gives when Swift Wind kicks off betrays her.

“You better not be doing that thing,” Catra mutters.

“What thing?” Adora cranes her neck to look back at her, feigning innocence.

“That dumb hero thing where you don’t tell anyone how you’re doing because you’re worried about everyone else.”

“Kind of hard to do that when no one will let me breathe for five minutes without asking me how I am,” Adora mutters. She hasn’t enjoyed the onslaught of attention in the past few months.

“We ask every five minutes because you lie half the time.”

“I don’t lie.”

“Not outright, but you do understate. It's not that different."

Adora doesn't reply immediately. Swift Wind is doing an excellent job pretending he doesn't hear the disagreement. 

"I'm trying."

Catra tucks her chin in the crook of Adora's neck. 

"I know. We’re not trying to bug you, but it does take a while sometimes to get you to admit it if something’s up."

“I don't always know myself,” she admits, barely audible over the wind as they break through the clouds. “I'm still learning how to figure it out."

Catra squeezes her lightly. She's not sure Adora will ever completely leave behind her penchant for self-denial but her attempts to take care of herself grow stronger and more frequent every day. 

"Do you know if you're okay right now?" 

Adora leans back in Catra’s arms and closes her eyes, taking a deep breath before she smiles. They look out on an ocean of fluffy clouds and blue sky that stretches infinitely above them.

"More than okay. I missed this. I've been going stir-crazy."

Catra purrs a little, pressing her chest to Adora's back, an apologetic rumble. 

"Little one must've been restless too. They've been doing gymnastics in there for days."

"I'm sorry," Catra mutters, guilty. Adora shakes her head. 

"They stopped as soon as we were in the air. I think they're asleep."

Catra chuckles in response and Adora laughs with her. They quiet and watch the clouds together. It's not long before Adora dozes off herself, propped against Catra, snoring softly. 

Catra holds her steady through the rest of the ride to let her rest. She hasn't been sleeping, a combination of discomfort and her own stubbornness, up at all hours of the night and day. 

It's been exhausting just to watch her. She’s been a blur, folding and refolding baby clothes; pestering palace medical staff with her pages-long game plan; obsessively timing kicks to make sure the baby's okay; fretting about what to do if she delivers too far before or after her due date; checking that their bag is packed correctly even though she’s had it packed for months and the hospital is a short walk in an adjacent wing. 

Some things don't change, Catra thinks, smiling as she watches the rise and fall of Adora's chest and the permanent bags under her eyes.

Adora wakes, startling as they start to descend. 

"Sorry! I fell asleep."

"You needed to sleep. I do wish you hadn't drooled on me, though."

Adora spins around to look at her and Catra grins, mischievous. Adora tugs at one of her hears, playful. 

"I didn't drool on you!"

Catra just cackles in response as she dismounts, holding a hand out for Adora to help her off the horse. Adora wiggles, trying to figure out how to get her feet on the ground without falling. 

"Hold on, hold on. With all due respect, as your loyal steed, you're too pregnant to be doing that," Swift Wind cuts in. He carefully kneels, lying down with his legs tucked underneath himself so she can slide off. Adora pouts about it but Catra can tell she's grateful as she stands with some support from Swift Wind's wing. 

"Thanks," she mutters, scratching behind his ears. 

She laces her fingers in Catra's and they walk together toward the little town. They only make it to the gate before Adora stops dead, tugging on Catra's hand. 

"What are you doing?" Catra rolls her eyes. “We have a long walk-”

Adora is just frozen. It makes Catra uneasy and waves a hand in front of her eyes. 

"Adora? Can you say something? You're freaking me out."

That seems to jar her into action. 

"Okay so don't be mad but I think my water just broke."

Now it's Catra's turn to freeze. 

"I'm sorry," Adora fidgets a little, taking her silence for frustration. 

"I'm not mad," Catra reassures her. "But I am a little freaked out considering we're a three-hour flight from Brightmoon. Aren't you supposed to have some kind of warning for this?"

"Well, yeah, but I'm not due for like two weeks and I didn't think they were real."

"You didn’t think that what was real?!" Catra hisses, tail puffing up in her panic.

"Contractions. I've been having them for a few days but they weren't that bad so I thought they were normal."

Catra covers her eyes for a minute and grits her teeth. 

"You've been having contractions for  _ days,  _ didn't tell me, got on your flying horse with me, and flew three hours away from all your plans and spreadsheets and packing lists?!"

Adora nods as if the thought process is completely reasonable. 

"You can have them before you're actually in labor," she explains, waving dismissively, but her smile is starting to falter.

"I  _ know  _ that you nerd, but it still seems like something to consider before deciding to take a little day trip-"

"Hey, so, not to interrupt but I couldn't help but see things were getting a little tense over here," Swift Wind pokes his head into the conversation, hovering over Adora's shoulder. 

"Yeah, it's tense because Adora was too much of an idiot to realize she's in labor and that the two of us traveling was an incredibly dumb idea!" 

"What?! You're in labor?" Swift Wind turns to look at Adora. 

"I think so?"

"Adora, you absolute idiot,” Catra groans, grasping her shoulders firmly, hoping the contact grounds her enough that she can get through to her. “Your water just broke. You're in labor. One hundred percent you are in labor.

"But I thought it'd be more painful, I thought I'd know," she falters as it starts to sink in.

"Did you forget that your pain tolerance is probably a little higher than the average person?" Catra asks.

"You do turn into a seven-foot-tall giant princess with magic healing powers on a regular basis. And you have almost died way more times than I can count," Swift Wind nods. 

"Oh god, I'm in labor," Adora pales. "What do we do?" 

"We make do with what we have," Catra answers, turning toward the town. 

"Wait, no! I can't have a baby in Erelandia! We have to go back to Brightmoon!"

"A little late for that," Catra mutters. 

"Can't we just fly back? I mean, labor can take so long-"

"Oh, sure, totally worth the risk of having a baby thousands of feet in the air when half the journey is over water with no place to land."

"Yeah, Adora, I know I'm your steed and I'm technically bound to serve you, but that's a no from me."

Adora pauses, looking around, agitated as if searching for an answer. She finds one in the patch of pink wildflowers at their feet. 

"Glimmer. Swifty, go get Glimmer. Tell her where we are. She can bring us back."

"That I can do.”

"As fast as you can," Catra pleads and he nods once before he kicks off, the beat of his massive wings strong enough that the two of them can barely keep their balance. 

"There. Now you can get your business done while we wait and when Glimmer gets here she can just teleport us home. No big deal," Adora says with a false confidence Catra sees through a mile away. She doesn't have the heart or energy to poke holes in Adora's false optimism, so she just takes her hand and trudges forward with her. 

Adora is fine at first but the walk is at least an hour, long and meandering. As they get further into the city, her grip on Catra's hand gets periodically tighter. She's trying to hide it. 

"Adora, you're in pain."

"It's not that bad."

"Then why are you squeezing my hand like you’re trying to break it every few minutes?"

“I’m just doing hand exercises?” she attempts. Catra blinks at her, unamused. 

“Did you seriously think I’d buy that?”

“No, but it was worth a try,” Adora sighs and they keep walking. "Just out of curiosity, how many minutes apart am I squeezing your hand like I’m trying to break it?" she asks, laughing and stammering, trying to mask her concern.

"I don't know but we should probably find you somewhere to lie down."

"It’s probably fine for now."

"Three hours is a long time. Things could change fast."

Adora, stubborn as always, refuses to entertain the idea just yet and insists they finish Catra's errand. Catra figures she might as well drop off Glimmer's paperwork and ask if there's some sort of doctor around here while she's there. 

It's a small diplomatic office and the young clerk flusters upon seeing not only Catra, whom she's been expecting, but also Adora walking through the door. 

"Oh! I didn't realize you'd be bringing She-Ra! It's an honor!" she stutters, bowing awkwardly and knocking a stack of papers off the desk. 

"Nice to meet you too," Adora chokes out, gritting her teeth. She tries to smile politely but it comes out looking deranged. 

"Is everything alright?" the clerk asks, taking in Adora’s pained smile and Catra’s exhaustion.

"Could be better. Got an additional delivery I wasn't expecting to have to deal with today," Catra answers, placing the papers on the clerk's desk. "There's the first one. As for the second, do you know of a doctor around here?"

"O-oh, I see," the clerk nods, frantic. "Erelandians don't have babies the way you do."

"Of course you don't, because you're mushrooms. Perfect," Catra mutters under her breath. 

"There's just one, a Plumerian woman who's lived here for ages. She makes medicines for your kind, takes in travelers who need care. Maybe she could help. She lives at the end of this street, number 48.”

“Thanks. Oh, and you can probably expect an appearance from the Queen. When she gets here, can you tell her that’s where we are?”

The clerk’s eyes widen.

“T-the Queen? Of Brightmoon?”

“Yeah. Just tell her where we are, that’s it.”

Catra leaves her, pale and sputtering, without a second thought. She’s got too much on her plate to try and soothe a flustered Erelandian clerk. 

Adora is starting to have trouble walking. She pauses every few minutes, bracing a hand against the wall of the buildings lining the street before she can keep moving. Catra holds her hand and rubs her back. She has no idea if it helps, but she feels like she should do something.

"I really hope this lady knows what she's doing," she huffs after the pain passes. 

"Starting to realize a lot can happen in three hours? Like I said?"

"Catra, now is not the time for any 'I told you so's!"

"Hey, I have to get at least one in to pay you back for freaking me out back there."

Adora scowls and shoves her lightly, hand directly in Catra's face. She cackles and follows after Adora.

They can spot number 48 long before they get to the front door. The stoop is covered in greenery, vines of wide-leaved plants, flowers, a thicket with a rectangular opening to allow for a door.

Catra knocks when they get to the door. A veritable cloud of incense escapes when an older Plumerian woman opens the door and Catra coughs. 

"Hello. Oh my goodness, She-Ra! It's an honor," she ducks her head. "How can I help?"

Adora doubles over then, screwing up her face and Catra merely gestures to her.

"Ah, I see. Not to worry, I've brought plenty of little ones earthside. Come in, come in."

The inside of the house looks like one of Plumeria's forests in miniature. It's a good thing she's leading them to the right room because finding the door could be difficult without her guidance. 

"My name is Poppy," she chats as if this is just a friendly visit, leading them into a room off the main hallway. "I fell in love with Erelandia as a girl. I love the city but could never be too far from green things. This felt like the perfect mix."

"Well, the people are literal plants, so I guess so," Catra quips. 

"Indeed," she chuckles. 

The room she brings them to is small, though thankfully the plants are fewer in here. The bed is merely a pillowy mattress and a heaping pile of cushions that sit directly on the floor. Adora eyes it with apprehension. She still prefers that rigid mattress of hers. 

The rest of the room is covered in soft things as well. Cushions, rugs, fabric in greens and pinks draped along the walls. 

Catra stifles a laugh. Adora is trying to be polite but she's too easy to read. This is a far cry from the sterile and organized hospital room she's envisioned and she heartily disapproves. 

"Thank you so much. You know I just need a place to lie down until our friend gets here to just poof me back to Brightmoon,” Adora tells her. 

"Ah, of course. The Queen. When will she be coming?"

"In a couple of hours," Catra supplies.

"Perfect timing. You'll be safe and sound with your new little one by then.”

"Well, we're hoping she’ll get here before that,” Adora laughs, trying to mask her nervousness with it. "I think we'll be fine, I'm a first-timer and they usually take  _ forever _ , so."

Poppy shakes her head and smiles as Adora goes tight-lipped and red, hit with another one.

"Not always. I think your little one is coming much sooner than that."

"How do you know?" Adora asks, letting out the breath she’s been holding, panicked and defensive.

"You're too restless to wait that long. I can see it in the way you hold yourself, the way you can't sit still. I think they'll be here within a couple of hours."

"But do you have any actual proof?" she bites. It makes the fur along Catra’s tail stand on end. She’s starting to unravel a little, panic starting to set in. 

“Well, you had one contraction when you walked in and another just now. That’s pretty close.”

"Okay, can I talk to you for a minute?" Catra asks Poppy. She nods, serene as if there's no tension in the room whatsoever. 

Catra pulls her out of the room where Adora can't hear, murmuring to her, quiet and fast.

"Listen, I know there's a really good chance that what you're saying is true. But she is going to seriously freak if she thinks she can't have her baby at home with her crazy checklists and an entire room of Brightmoon's brightest. So I need you to just pretend along with her, okay? Please."

"I'll do my best. But I think she may know, somewhere, that what I said is true,” she raises a brow, challenging.

"Maybe, but trust me, it's better to let her ease into it."

"Well, we need to keep her calm, and if you think she’ll only listen to you-” 

"I mean, she doesn’t really listen to anyone,” Catra mutters. “But sometimes I get through.” 

“Of course,” Poppy nods. “I’ll give you two some time. I’ll be back in a half an hour. Try to keep her as calm and comfortable as you can.”

Catra nods and rejoins Adora, who is pacing around the room, examining it. She kicks one of the cushions, critical.

"What did you tell her?" she asks as Catra shuts the door.

"That she should shut up and leave you alone. In so many words."

"Catra," she admonishes. 

"Hey, you're the one who asked her if she could prove herself to you."

"Well yeah because she can't just say things like that without proof-”

The end of her sentence is cut out as she braces a hand against the wall. She covers her mouth with the other hand but the sound still comes through. Catra bolts across the room to her, tucking a strand of hair that’s come loose behind her ear.

“I mean, I’d say that’s proof enough, but what do I know?”

Adora glowers at her and Catra sighs, taking pity on her.

“Do you want to sit down?”

“No,” she shakes her head. “It’s worse. I already tried when you were in the hallway. Getting back up was interesting.”

Catra laughs a little.

“I bet. Alright, we’ll walk then.”

They pace the room together. Adora hardly stops, only pausing when the rhythmic pains hit her. Catra can hear her grind her teeth as she squeezes her hand.

“You won’t even stop to sit down in labor. You know, I think this is what she meant by saying you’re too restless,” she smiles, softer and less teasing.

Adora doesn’t answer. She’s pensive, panting, looking at the floor. Catra turns to stand in front of her, trying to get her to look at her.

"Hey. Are you okay? Besides the obvious."

She shakes her head.

"I feel so stupid," she admits, quiet. Catra puts her arms around her. Adora is shifting her weight from each foot, restless. Catra sways with her, holding her close.

"I mean, it's very you that you didn't pick up up the signs, but-"

“No, not about that.”

"Wait so you  _ did _ know you were in labor?" Catra asks, preparing to be annoyed if she got on Swift Wind with full knowledge she was in labor.

"No, I didn't think I was. But I also knew that this kind of thing was a possibility. I thought it was a smaller possibility than it turned out to be, but still."

Catra nods. She knew something was up with her. She’s been unusually quiet and still in the last few days. No frantic recaps of her plans, no moving furniture or repacking her bag. It’s felt as if she’s somewhere else, distant and preoccupied.

"Yeah, I wondered. Especially when you had your whole plan written out and when diplomatic trips aren't really your thing. So why'd you come?"

She tenses again, leaning on Catra.

"I was worried about what would happen if I went into labor without you,” she answers, words tumbling out in the relieved puff of breath after her body calms for a moment. “I didn't want you to leave but I didn't want to make you stay if nothing ended up happening."

Catra laughs and kisses her forehead. 

"You could've just told me, dummy. No stupid paperwork is more important than you," she murmurs against her skin. 

Adora nods and Catra pulls back to look at her. She still doesn’t seem like herself, still won't look Catra in the eye. There's something in them she doesn't want her to see. 

"There's something else,” Catra tells her.

"It felt like so much,” Adora murmurs as if she hopes it’s too quiet for Catra to catch.

"What, all your plans? I'd say so."

"I needed to do all that,” she shakes her head.

"Why?" Catra pushes, gentle but still challenging her. Sometimes they have to pull difficult things out of each other like this, with offers of reassurance, with reminders that they’re loved and safe here.

"Because I'm going to be someone's mother!" she all but sobs, finally looking at her. Her eyes are wide and frantic. "It doesn't matter what I want. I have to look out for them, I have to have a plan, and a backup plan, and a backup for my backups. I have to make sure they'll be okay, I need the best doctors."

"Is all that what you wanted?" Catra interrupts.

"It doesn't matter-" she shakes her head, scowling darkly.

"Remember how well that went last time? Not admitting to each other and ourselves what we wanted?"

"That's different."

"Is it?

Adora tenses again, gripping Catra's forearms. This time, she stumbles a little, having trouble staying upright. Catra holds her through it.

“At first it seemed fine. Planning like that felt natural,” Adora reasons. “But after a while, it was like the more I tried to be in control of everything the less in control I was. I think it wasn’t actually fine in the first place. Just familiar.”

“You always have to play the hero,” Catra nods, knowing.

“I wasn’t playing the hero!” she argues, frustrated between her panic and her pain. Catra breathes deeply, willing herself not to rise to it.

“Putting everyone else’s needs above your own until it reaches a breaking point and then everyone, especially you, is worse off for it? Yeah, you were.”

“Parenting requires sacrifices.”

“They need you to look after them, yeah. But you don’t need to go all sacrificial hero about it.”

Adora doesn’t answer, clearly struggling with the idea.

“You’re no good as a hero or a parent if you don’t take care of yourself,” she challenges, gently lifting Adora’s chin, trying to get her to look at her. “You have to be in one piece to do any of this.”

Adora stares at her, wide-eyed before she nods.

“I hate it when you’re right.”

Catra laughs.

“Sucks for you because I’m right a lot.”

“I know,” Adora pouts. “But now I just feel stupid all over again trying to run from it instead of just saying something. I should know all this by now.”

“Yeah, you’re pretty stupid, but thankfully for you, I love you anyway,” Catra purrs, grinning, and Adora rolls her eyes. 

“So since you came with me today I guess what you really wanted was to have a baby with a weird Plumerian midwife in Erelandia,” Catra supplies. Adora snorts.

“Definitely not. If she tries to get me to meditate, I’ll lose it.”

“I think she already knows you’re not the meditating type,” Catra teases before she sobers. “Can I ask you something?”

Adora smiles weakly.

“I think we’re past that.”

“If all those plans weren’t what you really wanted, what did you want?”

“Honestly?” she sighs. “Probably just to be in our room with you and no one else.”

Catra pauses for a moment before she busts out laughing.

“Adora, seriously? It could’ve been that easy and you did all this instead?”

Adora flushes a brilliant red.

“It felt like it shouldn’t be that easy.”

Catra groans and tips forward to rest her forehead on Adora’s. She’s warm and sweating, trying to keep her breathing even.

“It doesn’t always have to be hard for you, Adora,” she implores. “You don’t have to suffer to do a good job.”

“I thought I had that figured out by now but then I started to worry. Do I even know how to be a good mom? What if I mess them up? What if I do something wrong-”

“You will.”

Adora’s eyes widen, horrified.

“No, no, I didn’t mean it like that,” Catra backpedals to keep Adora from a full-blown panic. “You’re not...you won’t mess up like  _ she  _ did with us. You don’t mess up like that on accident. You have to mean it.”

“But I could still do it on accident! I don't know if I'm ready to take them home today, I-" she stammers, eyes welling up.

"I'm scared too!" Catra exclaims, letting her own fear show for a moment. It stops Adora in her tracks.

"Like, really scared," Catra continues. "Etheria knows we didn't have a good example growing up. A-and I have some pretty nasty stuff in my past and that eats at me all the time. How am I going to explain that to a kid?”

“But, Catra, you’ve worked so hard to get batter, you’re going to do fine-”

“If you think I’m going to be okay with all the stuff I’ve messed up, why can’t you see that you’re going to be more than okay?”

Adora doesn’t answer, either unsure or in pain again. Perhaps both.

“I don’t feel ready to take them home today either,” Catra admits. “I was supposed to be running paperwork today and now we're having a baby and I'm terrified."

"Am I terrible if that makes me feel better?" Adora finally acknowledges. 

"No," Catra shakes her head, vehement. "And I think being terrified about doing right by this kid means we're on to something. We’re not perfect and we’re going to mess some stuff up. That’s guaranteed. You can pout about that all you want,” she challenges Adora, who juts her chin out at the idea that she can’t continue attempting perfection. 

“But with you already worrying about them like this, tying yourself in knots because you want everything to be perfect for them? You’re even more of an idiot than I thought if you don’t realize you’re already a great parent,” she looks away, unable to continue looking her in the eye as her voice cracks.

Adora pulls her to her, tucking Catra’s head under her chin.

“Thank you,” she whispers, voice wobbling.

“Don’t cry, dummy,” Catra tells her even as she’s swallowing the ache in her own throat.

“Too late,” Adora answers before tensing again. It must be a particularly strong one because a loud whine escapes her mouth even as she’s trying to keep quiet.

“You okay?”

“That one wasn’t playing around,” she gasps before she’s hit with another almost instantly.

“Woah, okay, I’m going to get whatever her name is.”

Adora can only moan in response. Catra has her hand on the doorknob when it turns on its own. Poppy is behind the door, coming in without needing to be called.

“How’d you know we needed you?” Catra asks, wary.

“I could hear her down the hall,” she smiles, calm. 

“Oh, I guess you would,” Catra nods. “So, yeah, I think stuff is happening.”

“Seems to be that way,” she walks over to Adora. “They feel closer together now, dear?”

“Much,” she nods. “They’re really close aaah-” her sentence devolves into something between a groan and a shout.

“They’re quite strong,” Poppy agrees, placing a hand on her belly to feel. “I doubt you’ll have long.”

“Catra, I think she’s right, I don’t think Glimmer’s going to make it,” she moans through gritted teeth.

“Yeah, not going to say I-”

“Don’t you  _ dare  _ say I told you so!” she snaps with surprising vehemence.

“Sorry, sorry!” Catra stops her teasing.

“I wouldn’t joke too much,” Poppy explains, giggling a little at Catra’s puffed-up tail that’s swinging back and forth. “It’s a little hard to have a sense of humor when you’re having a baby.”

“I’ll be nice now. No more jokes,” she assures them both, hands palm up, disarming.

“Wonderful. Now come hold her hand, please. I need mine to work so I can help her.” 

She holds up the hand Adora is squeezing so hard it’s turning purple. Catra nods, and dutifully offers up her hand to be sacrificed.

“I’ll patch you up later,” Poppy pats her shoulder. “Now help me get her comfortable.”

One of Catra’s fingers is definitely broken or at least dislocated by the time Adora is ready, but she knows it’s not even a fraction of what Adora’s dealing with, so she keeps her mouth shut and swallows any noises that threaten to escape.

The mattress on the floor Adora turned her nose up at at least allows Catra to sit with Adora, hold her close so she knows she’s there with her. 

She wishes she had something encouraging to say to her, but she can’t form words. Catra is frozen, too stricken by how familiar this is to her. Adora, sweating and in pain, lying on the floor in her arms, gasping for breath, trying to keep going even though she’s struggling. 

All she can do is stay with her, love her, hold her hand, and hope that it’s enough. 

This ends much the same way. Catra kisses her, this time a light one on her forehead. There’s no dramatic transformation. Instead, just a last, determined shout from Adora followed by a thinner sound, a little wail. New life. This time not a planet’s worth, bursting with magic. Just one, a ruddy, squalling baby in Poppy’s arms.

She checks them over and towels them off a little before placing them on Adora’s chest, draping a blanket across them.

“Welcome to the world, little one,” Poppy says, patting the baby’s head. “I hope you have a long and happy stay.”

Adora is wide-eyed and sobbing and for once Catra doesn't have anything in her to tease her about it. She's too busy with her own tears, reaching out with a trembling hand to stroke the baby's head.

She wants to say something about how beautiful they are, how proud and in awe she is of Adora who brought them here. 

"Adora," is all she can say, barely a hoarse whisper. 

Thankfully, Adora understands. She always does. 

"I know," she nods, sniffling. 

Catra gives her a real kiss this time. It feels so like their first one. Adora still trembles as Catra holds her, damp with tears and sweat. 

“Someone takes after you,” Adora grins when they break away and she looks back at the baby.

“Huh?”

“You really didn’t notice?”

She strokes their tiny ears and Catra jumps, surprised. They’re fuzzy, black, still folded closed. The tiniest tail pokes out of the blanket.

“T-there’s a lot going on, okay?” she fires back, defending herself before she relaxes and smiles. 

The baby has ceased their wailing, only squeaking now.

“You just had to have those strong genes, didn’t you?” Adora teases.

“Nature picked the most attractive features, what can I say?” 

Adora smiles but her eyes are growing heavy already with the stress off her shoulders and their baby cuddling to her chest.

“You’re tired,” Catra tells her and Adora nods.

“Of course you are, dear. You had that little one out in minutes. I’ve never seen anything like it,” Poppy shakes her head, chuckling.

“She’s an overachiever, she can’t resist,” Catra answers. 

“I can tell. I’ll let you rest in a moment, just let me check you over and patch up your hand,” she nods at Adora and Catra in turn.

“What’s wrong with your hand?” Adora jerks around to look at Catra. The baby grunts, indignant. Her eyes widen when she sees it, swollen and limp. “Catra! Why didn’t you say something?”

“Oh, I don’t know, probably because a broken hand is a lot less serious than having a baby?”

“Still-”

“Chill, Adora, I’m fine. You can heal me up when we get home if it bothers you so much.”

Adora pouts as Poppy finishes checking her over and turns to look at Catra's hand.

“It’s not bad. We’ll just bandage it so you can keep it still. You won’t have to deal with it for long.”

“The perks of being married to the mighty She-Ra,” Catra grins and Adora rolls her eyes.

When Poppy leaves them, Catra gingerly gathers the baby in her arms to let Adora relax. They fit so naturally in her arms. Catra tickles their palm with her pinky and they close a tiny fist around her finger.

She looks up to find Adora watching her with tears flowing freely down her cheeks. For the second time, the ache in her throat as her own vision goes watery is too strong to speak through. 

Instead, she reaches forward and cups Adora's cheek in her palm, wiping tears with her thumb. 

"You okay?" she asks when the ache in her throat lessens enough that she can speak again. 

"Yeah," Adora murmurs. "Sore and  _ really  _ tired. But also really happy."

"You did a really good job," Catra offers, voice cracking and threatening to give out again. "I wanted to tell you that during but I-"

Adora shakes her head and reaches to take her bandaged hand, gentle and mindful not to jostle it too much. 

"I wouldn't have been able to do it without you. You were the only thing keeping me from completely freaking out," she laughs nervously. 

"Yeah, I'm surprised you didn't freak out more. I know you were getting cold feet with your original plan, but that was  _ really  _ unplanned and I know how you are.

"It was a little scary how fast everything happened," she admits. "I was so worried about what would happen if something went wrong so far away from home. And I definitely wouldn't do it again without pain medication," she makes a face.

"Yeah, I didn't envy you. It didn't seem fun."

"It was probably second only to the time I was pretty much dead."

"It reminded me of that, a little," Catra whispers, unsure if she should. Adora looks at her, shocked.

"Of course it did. Oh, Catra I'm sorry," she kisses her hand. "I'm okay."

"I know," Catra nods, reassuring herself as much as she is agreeing with Adora. "And it ended pretty well this time too," she smiles, stroking the back of the baby's hand. 

"Yeah," Adora agrees. "You know, it was almost nice not to be in control. Having to just wait and see what happened. Almost."

"It's not completely your fault. They were the one that decided to be born in Erelandia. Kid's got a flair for the dramatic."

"Can't imagine where that came from," Adora quirks an eyebrow, teasing.

"I'm not dramatic! You're dramatic," Catra accuses.

The baby squawks, irritated at the noise and they laugh quietly.

"What do you think they said?" Adora smiles, warm and hopelessly in love as she reaches out and tickles the baby's foot.

"Probably that we're both dramatic and that you should be resting."

Adora yawns.

"Can't argue with that. I feel like I could sleep for days."

"We should let you sleep then," Catra answers. 

She and Adora still murmur quietly together. Speculating on what the baby's eyes will look like when they open them. Wondering if the light tuft of hair on their head will stay blonde as they age. 

Just before she drifts off, Adora stares at them with the dumbest grin on her face.

“What?” Catra asks.

“I love you. Thanks for staying with me.”

Catra smiles and laughs a little under her breath.

“I love you, too. Now go to sleep, dummy.”

***

Glimmer can think of better ways to excuse herself from a meeting. Swift Wind flies straight into the throne room, skidding on the marble floor as he tries to stop, nearly bowling over on top of the diplomats from Thaymore she’s conversing with. He wheezes, out of breath.

“Adora! Erelandia,” he coughs. “Water.”

“Swift Wind, calm down!” she snaps. “Breathe and then explain to me in normal sentences what’s going on.”

“AdorawentintolaborinErelandia-”

“Slow down! Sorry,” she looks around him at the people standing in front of her. “Even though I don’t know what it is yet, clearly something has come up. If you speak to my staff, I’m sure we can reschedule for another day without as many interruptions. My sincere apologies.”

They grumble and file out of the throne room.

“Swift Wind, you better have a good reason for interrupting the second reschedule of that meeting!”

“The most important reason ever!”

Swift Wind is wild-eyed and still panting.

“Woah, sorry. I should’ve known you wouldn’t interrupt a meeting like that if there wasn’t a good reason. Tell me what’s going on.”

“Adora went into labor in Erelandia.”

“She what?!” Glimmer shrieks. “Erelandia?! What’s she doing there?”

“Catra had an errand. She decided to go with her. They sent me to tell you to go pick them up and teleport them home. ”

Glimmer growls. 

“God, of course she did. So much for that checklist. I’m never letting her live this down. Don’t worry, I’ll go rescue her stupid butt. Wouldn’t be the first time, won’t be the last. Where in Erelandia?”

“I don’t know,” he wheezes. “I left them at the front gate. I just know Catra had some sort of errand there today.”

Glimmer nods.

“I know where she is. Or where she was supposed to be, anyway. If they’re not there, I’ll ask if the clerk knows anything.”

When she appears in the office in a cloud of purple, the clerk startles and drops her papers.

“Q-Queen Glimmer! It’s an honor! They told me you would come!”

She bows deeply and Glimmer nods her head, hoping she can get through this interaction quickly enough.

“Uh, hello. Wait, who told you I was coming?”

“She-Ra and-”

“Oh, thank goodness, you’ve seen them,” Glimmer rushes forward, pressing her hands against the edge of the desk. The clerk takes two steps back. “Do you know where they went?”

The clerk nods vigorously. 

“Y-yes. Number 48 on this same road. A Plumerian healer lives there.”

“Thank you so much!”

Glimmer doesn’t wait to hear her response. She disappears, teleporting down the street.

“58. Ugh, overshot.”

She tries again.

“38. God! I should’ve just walked!”

She finally lands in front of 46. 

“Good enough!”

She slams a fist on the door. She raises her hand to do so again and the door swings open. She has to catch herself to avoid punching the older woman on the other side.

“Woah! Sorry. I’m looking for-”

“I know. Pleased to meet you, Queen Glimmer. They’re here. But be quiet,” she puts a finger to her lips. “They’re sleeping.”

“Sleeping?! How-” Glimmer starts before she realizes. “Oh my gosh. I’m too late aren’t I? The baby’s already here.”

Poppy smiles gently.

“You’re right on time. They were born about an hour ago.”

“Okay, so you and I have different ideas of what on time means. But everyone’s okay?”

“Everyone is fine, they did very well.”

Glimmer exhales, relieved, as Poppy shows her the door.

“Thank you for taking care of them. I’m so sorry for the inconvenience.”

Poppy shakes her head.

“It was truly an honor.”

She takes her leave as Glimmer gently opens the door. The room is blanketed in a gentle quiet, punctuated by the sound of Adora snoring softly in her sleep. She’s pale and clearly tired but otherwise looks well. 

Catra is curled protectively next to Adora. As Glimmer shuts the door behind her, she can hear purring drifting over from her. She cradles the baby with an open gentleness. It's a rarity from her, one that tugs at Glimmer's chest. 

“Sorry I’m late,” she murmurs and Catra looks up. She’s blinking slowly, as content as Glimmer has ever seen her.

“Don’t know what I expected. You’ve always been slow, Sparkles.”

Glimmer giggles and tiptoes over. Catra stands to meet her. She holds the baby out a little.

“You want to meet them?”

Glimmer nods and takes them, gently gathering them into her arms. They’re impossibly small, the warm weight of them sweet in the crook of her arm.

“Are you going to cry on me too?” Catra smiles, gentle but with a little smugness in it. She’s ridiculously proud of her baby.

“I sure am and you’re going to have to deal with it,” she smiles, dabbing under her eyes. “Brace yourself for Bow when we get home. He’s going to be inconsolable. Especially when he sees these cute little ears.”

“They are extremely cute, aren’t they?” Catra grins. She doesn't like to be called cute herself, but she clearly relishes hearing it about her baby.

Adora stirs, mumbling under her breath.

“Catra?” she murmurs.

Catra kneels down, laying a gentle hand on her shoulder.

“Hey, sleepy, I'm here. Glimmer’s here too.”

“Glimmer, hi,” she slurs, still half asleep. “Did you see my baby? S’cute.”

Glimmer laughs.

“Hi, Adora. I’m holding your baby right now. You’re right, they are very cute.”

Adora smiles and cuddles closer to the pillow.

“Come on, time to get up,” Catra tells her, draping Adora’s arm across her shoulder, helping her up. Adora gladly cuddles into her side. She throws her arm around Glimmer’s shoulder when she reaches her.

****

In an instant, Catra and Adora are back in their room. The hospital bag sits, unused, in the corner. Glimmer helps Catra guide Adora to the bed. She's asleep again almost instantly. 

"Congratulations. They're beautiful," Glimmer murmurs before she leaves them to rest and spend some time getting used to their new family. 

There's a bassinet next to the bed, but Catra can't bring herself to put them in it. As she climbs in to nestle next to Adora with the baby in her arms, Adora stirs.

"Catra?" she murmurs, brows knitted.

"I'm here. We're both right here."

She lowers the baby to rest with their front on Adora's chest, a protective hand on their back. She'll move them in a moment when Adora calms. When Adora feels the little weight of them, she sighs, relieved, placing a hand on top of Catra's.

Catra watches her sleep, gently tracing the failsafe scar at her breastbone, with their baby asleep on her chest, ear pressed to her heart. 

  
  



End file.
